Need to Know
by YouLoveWhoYouLove
Summary: He was just going to leave? He was just going to leave her after everything? She hadn't even told him... He needed to know before he left her forever. A quick sappy three-shot. Please RnR!
1. She Said

**Hello everyone! This is just a quick oneshot about our favorite heroine and her breaking heart. Please let me know what you thought and if i should continue writing Stephanie plum fan fic's as this is my first!**

He was leaving. He was going to walk away and never see her again. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't let the only thing in her life- she couldn't let everything good in her life just walk away, not with out a fight.

She dragged her self to her feet and ran to the door. He didn't get to do this not after everything they had been through. She made it to the hallway just in time to see the elevator close. He never took the elevator. She didn't let her mind linger on that fact for very long before she began flying down the stairs. She missed the steps a few times as she ran, the tears made it difficult to see wear her feet were going. By the time she got to the bottom she had sustained a few bruises from hitting the hand rail. But she made it. Bruises and all she made it. The elevator was still on the second floor.

Oh god. She hadn't thought about what she was going to say. He had to believe her, he had to stay. He had to know that he was it for her. There was no other choice, never had been. That she would follow him into battle, to the ends of the world, forever. He had to know that she loved him only him from the moment they met. He had to know how terrified that made her feel, how she had pretended not to feel what had been right in front of her, because of what could happen if he didn't feel the same. He had to know that she didn't care anymore. That she didn't care that she could get hurt, that she could crash and burn so hard that she would never be able to put out the flames. He had to know that she would never want to.

She gasped in air when the elevator announced its arrival. Oh god. The second it took for the door to open seemed to take hours, giving her plenty of time to watch the reaction on his face when he saw her there. There were tears in his eyes. He hadn't allowed them to run down his face like she had, but they were there. And for a moment she was able to see the confusion in his eyes before they glazed over blocking what he was thinking from her.

"You don't get to do that." Her words seemed silent the first time she said them, her voice sore from sobbing, "You don't get to do that!"

"Stephanie-"

"No. You got your say upstairs." She cried out, "And i listened now its your turn!"

He was silent. Waiting for her to continue. "You sure can drive a girl wild you know that? I mean you tell her you love her and then you say you know nothing can ever come of it. I deserve better, that you can't provide the kind of life i need. That you love me to much to hold me back. And i know i never helped you think any differently. That i was so so scared of telling you the truth, that i let you believe the worst. But you can't just make the decisions in this relationship!

She started pacing in front of the elevator door not letting him leave the thresh hold causing the elevator door to open and shut in confusion. Her voice raised, drawing attention from other people in the lobby "I love you! I have loved only you for so long! I love what you do, how you know exactly what to say when I'm this close to giving up, i love that you know when to give me space and when i need you to hold me. I love how you know me better than anyone else." She took a gasp and let the air fill her lungs and then lowered her voice, " But most of all i love the fact that if all i ever do in this life, is love you then i will have done something worth while. Even if you don't love me back."

" God I sound like a sap don't I? But that's what you make me." A quiet cry escaped her lips before she could continue, "But you needed to know before you packed up and ran away to Miami or Boston or god knows where. You need to know that i love you."

Her words hung in the air for what seemed like eternity. She was too afraid to meet his eyes, to see the rejection that they could hold. She had done it laid it all out on the line. Her emotions , her love for him to take or for him to through away.

And then she felt it. His fingers on her chin. They turned her head towards his then raised here eyes so they met his. The wall was down and shining out at her was his emotions, so loud that she would have known what he was thinking from a mile away.

"Babe."

**Please let me know what you think! **


	2. He Said

**WOW! Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed! the amount of Alerts i got was amazing! And because of this, and the fact that i got quite a few requests, i have another chapter for you! Only one more Chapter after this then i have a bigger scale project to work on :) I hope you enjoy!**

He couldn't help himself. Her confession made him so inexplicably happy. He wasn't going to be alone anymore. She wanted to stand by his side, even after he tried to cut ties in her apartment.

He had tried so hard to keep him composure while he was telling her all the horrible excuses why they couldn't be together. The danger, the missions, he wasn't relationship material. He said all his old classic lies and some new ones. But that's what they had been, just lies. Lies to give her the chance to live a normal happy safe life with someone who could promise to come home every night.

So he had lied. Told her that he was leaving. That she would never see him again, that she should move on and find someone else. And her tears nearly broke him. He watched as she tried to form words around her gasps for air , but he hadn't let her get a word in afraid that if she did, he wouldn't be able to do the right thing.

And without turning around he walked on unstable legs to the elevator. Leaning on the wall he let his fist fly cracking the paneling. He had done it. And it made him feel like hell. No not hell, even that would have been better. The fires of hell would have been hot and reminded him of how she felt curled into his arms. How her lips felt on his in even the briefest of kisses. Instead it was like ice and incased his heart , it was like he was drowning, but he just couldn't die.

He felt them. It had been years since he had. The liquid piled up in the rims of his eyes threatening to spill over at any moment. And just when he was about to given into them the elevator door opened.

The door opened and there stood the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. She was standing there in front of him, her hair a crazy mess of curls, she had a sheet wrapped around her body and underneath he knew she was wearing a tiny pair of shorts and a thin tank top. But those only enhanced the beauty in front of him. The fire in her eyes, the furry, the determination, It only reminded him of all the reason he loved her so much.

But he had to be strong. He couldn't let her see how much he was hurting. He had to be strong for her. Always for her.

Words tried to escape her lips but they failed. When she tried again her voice was filled with conviction, "You don't get to do that!"

"Stephanie-" My voice wavered slightly and I cursed myself even though I was almost positive she didn't notice before she cut me off.

"No. You got your say upstairs." Her cries penetrated my heart like knives, "And I listened; now it's your turn."

I waited. Afraid that if I said anything that I would give myself away. And she deserved this chance so much; I wasn't going to ruin it for her. "You sure can drive a girl wild, you know that? I mean you tell her you love her and then you say you know nothing can ever come of it. I deserve better, that you can't provide the kind of life I need. That you love me too much to hold me back." All true he thought, every last word, "And I know that I never helped you think any differently. That I was so scared of telling you the truth, that I let you believe the worst. But you can't just make the decisions in this relationship!"

If she had been looking at me she would have seen the hope rush into every fiber of my being. She would have seen that I took the smallest step closer to her daring to believe that this wasn't a dream. But instead she paced back and forth her anger elevating along with her voice, "I Love you! I have loved only you for so long! I love what you do, how you know exactly what to say when I'm this close to giving up, I love that you know when to give me space and when I need you to hold me. I love how you know me better than anyone else." His heart could have taken flight. She loved Him. Him! He made the smallest step forward again but she didn't see it, as she was purposefully avoiding his eyes. He was about to speak but she continued, "But most of all I love the fact that if all I ever do in this life, I love you then I will have done something worthwhile. Even if you don't love me back."

"God I sound like a sap don't I? But that's what you make me." No he thought, you sound perfect. How could he leave her now? She loved him! He had been fooling himself, he had been an idiot. "But you needed to know before you ran away to Miami or Boston or god knows where. You need to know that I love you."

He waited for a moment. Just to make sure she was done. When she still didn't reach his eyes he slowly raised his hand, touched his fingers to her chin. He raised her face so it looked at his and a second later she lifted her eyes to meet his. She inhaled sharply at the contact. And he knew why. He let it all go, no hiding, no pretending, it was pure emotion that shined out of his eyes. Pure love.

"Babe." He whispered. And she understood so quickly so completely that when he tugged her body to his, she threw herself at him. Arms circling his neck her head buried in the crook of his neck. His own arms circled her waist and pulled her so that there was no space between the couple; he placed light kisses on her shoulders and neck as he pulled them back into the elevator away from prying eyes.

It took her a moment to hear the words he was mumbling into her neck "I'm sorry babe, I love you, I love you, I'm so sorry." The moment she understood she pulled back sharply and looked at him.

"You love me?"

He seemed shocked for a moment and tightened his grip on her like he thought she would try to run away, "I love you."

"…No qualifiers?" And there was the fear again in her eyes, in her voice. And it nearly killed him that he put it there. He didn't deserve her. But now that he had her there was no way he would let her get away.

"No qualifiers, Babe. Just need you to love me back." His words brought a smile to her lips as she lowered her mouth to his.

**Please let me know what you think!**


	3. They Said

**Hey! so i couldn't wait to upload this one! this is the last chapter so i hope you enjoy it! I'm planning on starting another story soon probably a little longer :) thanks again for all the reviews!**

They shouldn't be listening. But he forgot about the wire and they couldn't believe what they were hearing. If he ever found out they would all be out of a job. But there boss could be such an idiot! It was a well-known fact that they would protect her even from him if necessary. However they would prefer if the two of them would just come to their senses.

Everyone she had worked with grew to love her. You really didn't have a choice once you got to know her. So when they heard him start telling her ridiculous lies they all saw red. If he was this much of an idiot then he didn't deserve her! Her crying was clear through the wire as was the voice causing it. It seemed like he took no time at all before he was walking out the door leaving her crying in her apartment. One of them tried to leave the comm room threatening to kill him with their bare hands but was stopped by the others when they heard her start talking to herself.

She was running now. They could tell by the way her words left her mouth and she gasped in air between her words, "- has to believe me! Follow him anywhere- terrified- don't care anymore- never want to."

Her words were garbled up and they could all tell that her thoughts had made their way past her lips once more as she ran. She must have taken the stairs. Why would she do that? She never does that. They didn't think about that for long because they were all so proud of her. She was going to give him hell. And he deserved it! He deserved her; he just didn't know it yet.

"Turn on the lobby cam!" One of them yelled as more of the protectors crammed in to the surveillance room. In a second they had the visual of her flying down the stairs and stopping right in front of the elevator just in time for the doors to open.

He was standing there looking defeated. Like his world had just ended. They had never seen him cry before. And this was as close as they would probably ever get, but it didn't make him seem weak. It made him seem human, and that was a side of him they rarely got to see. Unless he was with her.

"You don't get to do that!" The visual was poor as she had her back to the camera, but the words came through loud and clear. She laid it all on the line. Called him out on his stupidity, admitted to her own. And then she told him that she loved him and they saw him change. In that split second he had hope again. He listened while she told him what he meant to her.

By the end of it they were all yelling at the screen telling him to kiss her already. To take her upstairs before they came down there. Some of them were tearing up, but they'd never admit it. And then he finally made his move. Guiding her face to his, looking her in the eyes, "Babe."

The comm room broke out in to applause when she jumped into his arms. They were so loud that one of them that hadn't been there came in and told them to shut up because he was with a client. But once he heard the news he was yelling to.

The couple exchanged other words, but they didn't get to hear them. The video had gone away when he had pulled the couple back into the elevator; no doubt headed back to her apartment.

"Boss is offline until further notice boys!" One of them yelled, "Divide up his shifts so he's covered."

The others did this immediately, while the one turned off the camera and the wire feed, and grumbled "About time."

Epilogue:

They continued living there lives, her bounty hunting, him being an all-around bad ass. She got into trouble, he got her out. He felt like going off the deep end, she calmed him down. It was love. They needed each other.

He convinced her to move in with him not long after the elevator. He asked only a few hours later when they were laying in her bed, him playing with her curls, and her running her fingers over the muscles in his forearm. There had been no delay in her answer. Why delay any longer? She had kept them both waiting too long.

She wore a ring on her left hand now. But neither of them would say if they actually got married. She said being married meant nothing, but being committed and in love meant everything. And they were.

Her mother came to terms with this eventually and even started cooking healthy dinners for him when the couple came over. Her father said he never had a problem in the first place. Her grandmother didn't stop trying to touch his butt.

Their friends were happy for them. Some claimed broken hearts that she was taken. One claimed their heart was broken because he was. But even those who had first been wary of the pair eventually realize what a good match they were.

And they always laughed. For him this was new, but it seemed like second nature now that he had her. You could hear their laughs whether they were at lunch, on a mission, or in bed, and everywhere in between.

And they still caught fire whenever they were near each other. He still sent tingles down her spine when he entered a room. And she still could turn him with only a bat of an eyelash. What they had wasn't going to burn out. If anything they felt that it was just starting, that they had so much farther to go.

She was happy. He was happy. How could they not be? They were together after all.

**Please review and let me know what you think?**


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